THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



Preparation of tlie Soil 



Dig Deep should be the motto of every grower of outdoor roses. 

 Nothing less than two feet of well-manured, thoroughly broken-up soil 

 should satisfy the earnest rosarian. In most cases to get this it will be 

 necessary to remove entirely about one foot of the subsoil and cart in 

 good loam from elsewhere to take the place of that removed. That this 

 sounds like a big undertaking I am well aware, but for those who can 

 afford it, it is well worth while. Human nature being what it is, there is 

 one pleasure in enjoying the exquisite color and delightful fragrance of 

 the rose, and there is another pleasure, more earthly perhaps but none the 

 less potent, in having better, bigger, finer roses than our neighbor. The 

 competitive spirit is strong in mankind, whether it be in the display of 

 wealth or the display of roses. 



What manures shall we use in preparing the soil? If it is to be had, 

 use cow manure and use it in large and impressive quantities. If one 

 sixth to one eighth of the bulk of prepared soil is cow manure, it will 

 hardly be too much. Do not put it at the bottom or in layers, but thor- 

 oughly incorporate it with the whole mass of the soil. A generous 

 sprinkling of bone meal throughout the mixture will be beneficial, as it 

 will supply the phosphoric acid which is deficient in all animal manure. 

 Naturally, if cow manure is unobtainable, horse, sheep or pig manure will 

 make a good substitute. There is something about cow manure very 

 grateful to the rose. 



Planting 



I shall assume that you will make your own choice of varieties, con- 

 sulting some good nursery catalogue or some of the later standard 

 works upon roses, acquiring the number of plants to suit your garden 

 and the colors to suit your taste. But I should like to make an appeal 

 on behalf of a few of the oldtime favorites, such as the beautiful moss 

 rose, the cabbage or Provence rose, the damask rose, and the old Persian 

 yellow, the yellowest of yellow roses. These are but a few of the roses 

 of another day which are well worthy of a place in every rose garden, 

 both for the fond remembrances they bring back to most of us, and for 

 their intrinsic beauty. Nor would the garden be complete without some 

 of the fine rugosa hybrids, of which Conrad Ferdinand Meyer is the 

 prince. And then there are the newer Irish single roses of Dicksons, 

 of which Irish Elegance is perhaps the best. But I promised to leave the 

 selection of varieties to the grower and will do so. 



Roses planted in the autumn will thrive better the following summer 

 than spring-planted stock, so if possible plant in the autumn. But 

 whether planting in spring or autumn, the ground should be moderately 

 dry and the day, to be ideal, should be cool, cloudy and still. If the 

 plants are on their own roots there will be no trouble from suckers, and 

 shallow planting will be all right. It is advisable to plant budded or 

 grafted slock so that the union is two to three inches below ground, for by 



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